I cannot tie a fly tonight

[tjulian]

I am a newbee at fly tying and am participating in the beginners fly swap. Tonight I was trying to finish up my flies but couldn't get one finished. I couldn't get the whip finish to work so I tried the half hitch tool. Neither one worked. So I quit for the night. Maybe I will have better luck tomorrow night.

[ScottP]

Worse comes to worse, you can always cheat and use Super Glue. When I had problems getting heads tied off it was almost always because I crowded them (didn't leave enough room up front to finish them off properly).

Regards,
Scott

[Lotech]

Which whip finish tool are you using?

[rainbowchaser]

Here is video from Hans Weilenmann showing how to do a hand whip finish. If I was starting out tying that is what I would learn. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M482D0wFvHA

[AlanB]

Me neither but for very different reasons. For one reason or another I can't lie down for very long at one go. A while back a friend turned up at my place having just been kicked out by his Mrs. He is asleep on my sofa. What I would normally do now is bash out a few stock flies, but 3am is a little early to put the lights on. Hopefully he'll be moving on soon (he will be one way or another). Then I can get back to my more usual routine.

If you can give us some idea of why your finishing isn't working we may be able to help.
Cheers,
A.

[JeffHamm]

Hi,

I would also recommend learning to whip finish by hand. That's all I do and I find, once I got the hang of it, I have much better control than with a tool. Then again, having never really mastered the tool that probably isn't a fair comparison, but still, I think it's a good idea to know how to do it by hand. That, of course, won't help with your current dilemma, but it could just be one of those days. If you normally don't have a problem with the whip finish, then try again tomorrow. If it's still not working for you, then try and provide some more details and people can try and help. Post a photo of the tool you're using, as the suggestions will depend upon that.

- Jeff

[AlanB]

Jeff, I'm with you on the finger whip finish. No matter what the job I maintain if it can be done without a tool it is quicker, and often better done with the hands. Using a tool insulates you from feeling what is going on. A lot of tying is about the "feel". Tools make that difficult to maintain. Of course there are jobs that just can't be done without a tool. I just try to keep them to a minimum. Though you wouldn't believe it if you saw the collection I have.
Cheers,
A.

[gordo7]

Some times sipping an adult beverage and head phones FULL of music are conducive......

YMMV

[WarrenP]

tjulian,

I have been tying flies for over 25 years. I usually tie something every night whether it is some new pattern I have found on the internet or flies for the local fly shop and there will be evenings when no matter what I do, I just do not like the looks of the flies that I try to tie. When this happens, I will get my dubbing brush making block out and just twist up some dubbing brushes or maybe dig out some old flies that never worked for me and cut the material off the hooks so that I can re-use the hooks. As long as I am doing something related to fly tying, I am OK. You will have evenings like this and that is normal. Most of the time when you are having problems with your whip finish, it is because you have "crowded" the hook eye and no matter how hard you try, the thread will continue to slip over the hook eye. The best thing to do then is to remove the material from the hook and start over. Try to get into the habit of starting your thread one hook eye width behind the hook eye and always stop at that point when you are tying material on the hook. If you do that, you will always have room to do a nice head on your fly and not have any problems with your whip finish. As far as which way or tool you use for whip finishing, it will make no difference if there is not room at the front of the fly for making the head. I use a Matarelli whip finishing tool and I can do a hand whip finish, but, I find my hands and fingers are just too rough and I have problems with the thread not sliding off my fingers. I teach beginner's fly tying classes when asked to and I always teach whip finishing with the Matarelli tool because it is much easier for beginners to learn in my opinion. Once you have mastered the Matarelli whip finish tool, you can practice the hand whip finish if that is your desire. For me, I cannot get a nice tight head using my hand and I feel like I am "all thumbs" when I try the hand whip finish. I lose total control of the whip finish. I know, for a fact, that if I forced myself to do a hand whip finish, I would be able to, but, why fix something that is not broken. If you are tying up your flies for the beginner's fly swap I would suggest you continue doing the whip finish that you are use to and finish the flies and get them in the mail to Steve and then play with learning another whip finish technique if that is your wish. Now is not the time to try something new. If you watch tying videos, you will see that some tyers use the Matarelli tool and some use the hand whip finish. You use which ever method that gives you a good finished head on your flies. Always remember that if someone tells you one way is better than another, that is "their" opinion and that may not be true for you. You continue to tie your flies and do the whip finish that is comfortable for you and gives you the neat and tight head on your flies and let others do it their way. It is all good. Do not let this little "bump in the road" take the fun out of your fly tying. Leaning to tie flies is like learning to swim. You can learn the basic strokes, but, you are not ready for competition until you have practiced, practiced and practiced and by all means, have fun doing it. Never feel you have learned it all. Always strive to learn more.

I offer the above because I do not feel the tool you are using for the whip finish is the problem at this time. I feel you are "crowding" the head. Just my opinions on this and nothing more.....

[Betty Hiner]

Some times it's just best to walk away for a while!! Not for long, and not very far ... just away. We need to remember this is supposed to be fun!